ABUJA, Nigeria: On Tuesday, July 7, 2026, the Media Adviser to former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Paul Ibe, criticised Nigerian President Bola Tinubu for initiating an investigation into the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council without first suspending the officials implicated in the matter.
Okay News reports that Ibe posted a statement on the social media platform X stating it was “flagrantly wrong” for the President to order the probe “without asking the key suspects, including his Chief of Staff, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila to go on suspension pending the conclusion of the investigation.”
Ibe said, “Not suspending all those involved in the #GbajaGate scandal is akin to them being a judge in their own case. Their continued stay in office while the investigation is going on, gives them the opportunity to interfere with the investigation process.”
Tinubu previously directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the council. The President gave the commission a 30-day deadline to submit its report regarding the entity, which the Presidency described as a fictitious body with no legal basis.
The controversy involves Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who claimed to be the Director-General of the council. Matthew alleged he paid N600m (approximately $400,000 USD) to secure the position, with N400m (approximately $266,667 USD) of that total paid through proxies. He also accused Nigeria’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, of demanding 48 per cent of the agency’s take-off grant.
The Presidency dismissed Matthew as an impostor and stated the council does not exist. Questions remain regarding how the council allegedly secured a N1.3bn (approximately $866,667 USD) budgetary allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act and opened accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress and former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, have also demanded the suspension of Gbajabiamila pending the investigation.
